Thursday, December 20, 2007

I'm sorry. It's Christmas crazy around here. I'm packing, running errands, entertaining visitors, etc. I'm all over the place. I want to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! Please put God and love your hearts. Pray for peace in the world. Take care and I'll see you next year....

The screams you might have heard Wednesday morning/Tuesday night were mine. I was screaming because I ran out of yarn binding off the ONLY Christmas gift I'm knitting this year! I researched the project and 2 skeins of Cascade Eco Wool is suppose to be enough to knit the Hemlock Ring Blanket. I used a felted join to combine the two skeins together. I'm not a loose knitter. I'm a medium to tight knitter. I made/making the blanket using the extended chart in which there's 121 rows and 600 stitches on the needles. And I still ran out of yarn! I'm upset. I ordered more yarn and after I finish it and give it to the recipient, I'll post pictures. :-(

What would be the perfect vacation during the Winter Season? Would rather you head to the beach, to escape all the cold weather or want to pack your ski's and head to the mountains.

I've always wanted to go to Paris and see the Eiffel Tower, sit in a cafe on the Champs Elysees and people watch, go to the Louvre,etc. Check out the Eiffel Tower webcam. I want to go on one of those 10day see everything tours.

Wednesday, December 19, 2007

My wonderful SP11 secret pal gave a me terrific lagniappe. BUTTERFLY SOCK BLOCKERS! The seller even included a pretty daisy stitchmaker. A lagniappe is a Cajun term referring to something extra someone receives in addition to normal service.

Tuesday, December 11, 2007

Your soul is painted the color purple, which embodies the characteristics of sensuality, spirituality, creativity, wealth, royalty, nobility, mystery, enlightenment, arrogance, gaudiness, mourning, confusion, pride, delicacy, power, meditation, religion, and ambition. Purple falls under the element of Earth, and was once a European symbol of royalty; today it symbolizes the divine.

For many people, Winter is a time of cold weather and snow - and many fun outdoor activities that can only be enjoyed during those times! What's YOUR favorite activity in Winter, and is it even outdoors??

My aching joints don't like cold weather too much so I usually pass on outdoor Winter activites. I like making real hot chocolate.

“It’s the Pay It Forward Exchange. It’s based on the concept of the movie “Pay it Forward” where acts or deeds of kindness are done without expecting something in return, just passing it on, with hope that the recipients of the acts of kindness are passed on. So here’s how it works. I will make and send a handmade gift to the first 3 people who leave a comment to this post on my blog requesting to join this PIF exchange. I do not know what that gift will be yet, and it won’t be sent this month, probably not next month, but it will be sent (within 6 months) and that’s a promise! What YOU have to do in return, then, is pay it forward by making the same promise on your blog.

I will now Pay It Forward to you THREE, I wonder who you will be?! Please, be a PIF! You will enjoy it just as much as we do!”

And, remember…you have 6 months to get your gifts done! Come on, you know you would love to be one of my angels. Then, one day, but you don’t know when….you will get a gift that I have made especially for YOU!

Most the people I know in blogland have already signed for it. I saw the group on Ravelry and decided I needed to do it. I signed up thru Girly with A Twist. If you haven't signed up already, please do. I promise to make you something nice :-)

Thursday, December 6, 2007

I joined the 2klace Ravelry group because I'm find that I enjoy knitting lace. I'm slow and I make mistakes,but I like the challenge. The rules of the group are fairly simple. Over 50% of my projects in 2008 have to be lace. Lace socks are included. YAY! I'm going to buy another US1 addi turbo lace so I can knit a doily for my stepmom's birthday present. The doily will be one of my first projects of 2008. I also want knit at least 2 more Hemlock Ring Blankets in 2008.

I haven't been able to successfully knit the Hemlock Ring Blanket this week without missing up. I've had to tink and tink til I finally ripped back to my lifeline. I figured out that the written instructions and the chart aren't the same and that's why my count was off. I put it down on Tuesday and haven't worked on it since. I'll pick it up again next week and I'm only going to use the written instructions. I work better under pressure any way. What have so far looks pretty....

What I've been working on instead is the Foliage Hat from knitty.com. I'm making it for myself. It's a lace hat that's surprisingly easy to knit. Of course it's purple.

I'm still working on the my 1st toe up sock. I've made it through the short row heel and now I'm knitting the leg. I've researched and asked questions about casting off. I was all set to use a crochet bind off, but instead I'm going to use EZ's sewn cast off with Denise's variation.

WWCS Topic of the WeekOur hostesses wanted us to get to know 2 other people in the swap that were not our upstream or downstream pals. I've had conversations this week with Angela about short row heels without holes. I talked to Heather about cables and patient sock knitting.

Friday, November 30, 2007

The Cascsade Eco Wool yarn that I ordered from a Washington knitting shop was backordered so I ordered some from JimmyBeansWool. I want the throw to be finished and blocked by December 18th. I immediately casted on with a J/1o crochet hook. I magic looped the first 9 rounds then switched to 2 circs. I had to sleep on it to understand how to knit and purl 9 stitches into a double yarn over. Instead of using BrooklynTweed's pattern in which the blocked diameter of the throw is about 4 feet, I'm using the Hemolock Ring KAL pattern that's on yahoo. I want my throw's diameter to be about 5 feet.

Harmony Needles

I'm using US 10.5 Harmony interchangable needles. I bought 2 sets of the 10.5 needles, 40 inch and 47 inch cables to try out. I'm going to have 600 plus stitches on the circs and I didn't want them to be crowded. When I knit lace, I have to constantly count stitches. I didn't want to miscount stitches because they're crowded.

Secret Pal Socks

These are the Apple Harvest Socks I knitted for my downstream secret pal. I used White Willow Market's superwash socks in the SnapDragon colorway. I hope she likes them. I hope they fit too. I used the foot circumference times my sock yrn gauge to get the right number of cast on stitches. The Apple Harvest socks made me see that a heel flap can be knitted in k1p1 with a continuation of the leg pattern. I'm understanding more about sock designing. I particularly like this photo because the hot pink in the yarn looks hot pink instead of orange. I've learned from reading Adrienne's interview of BrooklynTweed that the best light for taking photos is natural light. You'll be seeing better pictures from me.

First Toe Up SocksFor my next sock project, I'm making the Lace Rib socks from SNS. The sock yarn is Madeleine Tosh's Superwash in the Vermillion colorway. The socks are for a pal's who's birthday was in November. (Yeah I late again.) I wanted to try something new and try again to do short row heels. I'm going to use Kathleen Taylor's NoWrap Short Row Heel.

Thursday, November 29, 2007

Thank you so much S!!!! My FIA spoiler sent me this package all the way from Germany! I was worried it was lost.... snail mail is so slow. :-( My spoiler is S of s-knitting. She's the knitter I talked about in a previous post that has the Orangina top I covet. I read her blog and through her I found Adrienne's blog.

S sent me Sweet Kiss(strawberry and cherry) tea, a bar of white magnolia soap, a skein of red Silkdream yarn, 2 skeins of cotton yarn, and the book, OneSkein. The book has knit and crochet patterns in it. I found an infant hat pattern I want to make for my littlest nephew. S sent me 2 soft, knitted washcloths. I really appreciate her doing that because cotton yarn is harder to get in Europe than it is in the US. :-) S also sent me some spice vanilla candles to go into the jack-o-lantern candle holder. The candler holder broke somewhere in transit. :-(

The package was well worth the wait because she sent me 2 bars of Milka Schokolade. It's rich, smooth and creamy delicious Austrian milk chocolate. My friends and I had it with coffee. Thank you again S :-)

That brings me to my answer for the Winter Coffee Swap Topic of the Week:

What is the ideal setting for enjoying the perfect cup of coffee? Who would be there - or would you be alone? Inside or out? Morning or night? With food or just the steaming cup of joe?

Sitting around after dinner talking and playing poker with my friends. I play Tx holdem poker with a group of friends. We usually have dinner around 7 pm then sit down and have a long poker playing session. We drink coffee that we get from Half Price Books.

I have received my last package from my wonderful SP 11 secret pal who's knitwear and accessories designer, KT! In a previous package, KT sent me the beautiful Sari Silk bag. She told me that the pattern was featured in the Summer 2007 edition of Black Purl Magazine. What she didn't tell me was that she was THE DESIGNER!!! I feel sooo special. :-)

A scarf for my roommate. My roomie is recovering from uterine cancer surgery and KT was nice enough to make her this scarf using her Mistaken Rumour Scarf pattern. The teal in scarf I'm going to use the pattern to make my lil brother the scarf he's been wanting me to make him.

Monday, November 19, 2007

A quick post.....The Thursday upcoming is Thanksgiving in the U.S., so let's all - American and not alike! - just share a post with what it is we're thankful for. A wonderful thing to do any time of year, I thought it'd be a nice thing to share for this week with the group!

I'm thankful for my family, friends, and the country I live in. I feel that I'm living a blessed life. God has shown me severals times that he's in my life and helped me through the rough spots.

I hope everyone has a great Thanksgiving and wonderful rest of the week. TTYL.... :-)

How long have you been knitting? Do you consider yourself beginner, intermediate, advanced? I've been knitting for a little over a year. I consider myself to be an advanced beginner because I can knit socks. I have so much more to learn.... sweaters, tops,cables, intarsia, steeking, lace knitting and knitted lace. I've decided in 2008 I'll learn more about lace knitting and knit my first top. I have the pattern for the Scarlet Woman tank top. I want to knit it plus a top I saw in Vogue Knitting Spring 2007.

How long have you been knitting socks? I've been knitting socks since January of this year. When I started knitting, my goal was to knit socks. I feel comfortable knitting basic socks. I want to try Jaywalkers, Loksins, lace sock patterns in SNS and MSNS, and Cookie A patterns.

What are your favorite fibers to work with? Wool and cotton. For socks I mostly use superwash merino wool because of the oops factor. If someone including myself accidently washes the socks, they won't be ruined.

What is your favorite color?purples, blues and reds

What are your current WIPs (works in progress)? A secret pair of socks for a swap, Forest Canopy Shawl(my 1st lace shawl), and My So Called Scarf for myself

What are some yarns/fibers that you stay away from. I don't like Red Heart yarn. I don't like cotton or cotton blends sock yarn. Possum yarn.... yuck

What is your family situation? (Married, kids, pets?) I'm single with no kids and no pets at this time.

Name some of your hobbies. Other than knitting, reading, cooking. I crochet a little. I want to start sewing again but need to buy a sewing machine. I need to reschedule my soapmaking class. I haven't found the time to do it. I took a beginner jewelry making class back in March. Maybe I'll make some stitchmarkers on day.

Name some of your favorite movies? Shawshank Redemption, Secret Window, The Green Mile

Do you like to read? Yes, I love to read. Since I've been knitting, I haven't read all that much.

Do you collect anything? Seashells, butterflies, knitting patterns and cooking recipes. I have 40GB on my hard drive. I used about 15 GB of which approximately 8-10 GB is patterns and recipes. I have the most up to date version of Acrobat Adobe. Most of my patterns are stored in either Adobe or Word documents. I have my patterns also stored in flash drives as a backup. I think in 2008 I'll start collecting knitting books. I don't collect yarn or have a yarn stash because I'm practical. Most of the time, I need to have a pattern picked out before I'll buy yarn for it.

Do you own an iPod or mp3 player? I have both.

What are your favorite type of knitting needles? Addi turbos. I recently bought Harmony needles (size US 10.5 interchangables) to make the Hemlock Ring Throw. They're so pretty. I want so much to like using them. If all goes well, I'll use them for lace knitting.

What knitting notion could you not live without? My darning needles. They're in a magnetic case I got as a free gift in a British knitting magazine.

Thursday, November 15, 2007

Knitting Blogs:My SP11 hostess, Christine is having one more contest for our group. Yay!What do you need to do to enter? Easy! Just link me to a fresh, new, interesting knit/crochet blog. No YarnHarlot, Crazy Aunt Purl and others that everyone has heard of. I want new. That's it.

There are so many blogs I like. It was hard to choose. I ended up putting the names of my top 4 picks in a bowl and picking one. I chose Crimson Purl. My top 4 picks were:

Crimson Purl -I enjoy reading about her adventures. She's a knitting social butterfly. We share a couple of similarities. Her favorite colors are red and purple.She's knitting or has knit alot of the patterns I want to try. We both had a baby tooth that never fell out. She had braces put on to close the gap. I have a dental bridge that matches my other teeth.

LovinComfortKnits - She's an awesome lace knitter and a very nice person. Nichole of Lapdog Creations referred me to her when I had questions about blocking lace. I looked at her blog and had another one of my "I want to be able to do that" moments. Her shawls are so beautiful. Her Etain is gorgeous, simply gorgeous. I saw it and said out loud, " WOW!"

Real Life Live&Unscripted - She knits, sews, scrapbooks and is a photographer. I enjoy reading about her live. She's also a very nice person. I'd been blogstalking her for awhile and decided to delurk and post a comment. She was so touched by it she invited me over for cake. lol...... Ok...what really happened was, I delurked and posted a comment when Adrienne asked her readers to delurk. Instead of putting wildflower38 as my name, I put my real name, Cheryl, on the comment. Adrienne thought I was her neighbor, sent me an email and invited me over for cake.

About Me

“Maturity is: The ability to stick with a job until it's finished; The ability to do a job without being supervised; The ability to carry money without spending it; and The ability to bear an injustice without wanting to get even” A. Van Buren